The start of Florida basketball’s title defense did not go quite how the Gator Nation had hoped, as the Arizona Wildcats came back from an early deficit and held on for a 93-87 victory to start the 2025-26 campaign.
Things looked great for the Orange and Blue after the opening tipoff, with Todd Golden’s team starting strong only to hit a wall a quarter of the way through the game. Unfortunately, he and his roster did not have enough to overcome their opponents over the full 40 minutes, and in many ways were beaten at their own game.
While the results are disappointing, there is no need to despair in Gainesville over the men’s basketball squad (the football team is another story). But for now, here are some key takeaways from Florida’s loss to Arizona on Monday night.
Florida starts at a furious pace, but the luster quickly wears off
The first 10-plus minutes of this game gave a lot of vibes from last season. Both Fland and Lee fit seamlessly into the game flow, Condon and Haugh dominated down low, and the Gators got out to a 12-point lead. Everything looked good.
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The Wildcats then fought back to eventually take a lead into the locker room at halftime, and much of that credit goes to their 21-12 edge on the glass; Arizona doubled Florida’s offensive rebounds, 6-3, and scored eight points off of turnovers against six for the Gators. Both teams shot above 50% from the field overall (53% for Arizona; 50% Florida) and almost matched that from beyond the arc (50% for Arizona; 44% Florida).
Rebounding difference aside, the first half performance felt much like many games last year, where Florida did well in certain stretches of the game while lagging in others. The team came out much sharper than we saw in previous season openers — which was great to see — but what followed was not nearly as encouraging.
Arizona matched Florida’s physicality, bested Gators on offense
At the end of 40 minutes, the Cats edged the Gators on the glass, 41-39, but watching the game, it was clear that they were not intimidated by Florida’s strength, size or experience. Every shot in the paint was contested and ‘Zona even managed to block a 3-point shot by Lee.
And speaking of blocks, the Wildcats managed to swat five shots against two for Florida.
The victors shot 49% from the field overall against the vanquished, who managed to nail a healthy 43% of their shots. The Gators fell short — pun intended — from beyond the arc, hitting just 26% of their attempts (7-for-27) while the Cats drained 40% (only 2-for-5, however), favoring efficiency over quantity.
Florida floundered at the free-throw line, shooting just 67% (20-for-30) while Arizona cooked at an 82% clip (31-for-38). That stat alone might be the biggest key to the Gators’ loss.
Florida just did not have an answer for Peat or Bradley
Talking about stats, Koa Peat and Jaden Bradley put up NBA numbers on Monday night against a defense that, on paper, should have been air-tight. Instead, the duo ripped through the scorecard like cheerleaders running through a pregame banner, combining for 57 of their team’s 93 total points, with the former dropping 30 and the latter 27 on the Gators.
However, neither of them took a single 3-point shot in the 36 minutes apiece played. But they still epitomized maximum efficiency on the offensive end.
Along the way, they buried 77.3% of their free throw shots (Peat, 9-for-10; Bradley, 8-for-12) and shot a combined 52% from the field (Peat, 11-for-18; Bradley, 9-for-14) along with 10 rebounds and five steals between the pair. Not too shabby for the freshman and the senior — the future looks bright for ‘Zona this season.
As for the Gators, they will be facing plenty of similar talent on the way to the Big Dance, so hopefully, there were lessons to be learned here. Todd Golden has his work cut out already.
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